Caracas Chronicles

• Colombian president Gustavo Petro travels to Caracas to meet with Maduro today (Tuesday) about reopening the border. His office said that Petro wants to promote the economy of the region and make his agenda more socially oriented. We’ll see. 
• The Docket initiative by the Clooney Foundation for Justice and Foro Penal presented their report before the International Criminal Court with new evidence on crimes against humanity committed by security and intelligence forces in Venezuela. The report describes the role of 11 officers of the DGCIM in crimes against humanity, including torture, arbitrary detentions, and sexual abuse. They said that the lack of investigation by the State implies that international efforts must be made to punish the perpetrators of the crimes and guarantee the victims’ rights to justice. Both organizations interviewed over 50 people, victims and families, lawyers, journalists, and former prosecutors. “The perpetrators believe they are untouchable before the Venezuelan state. In fact, it’s not just that they believe it, they are really untouchable,” said one of the survivors in an interview. 
• Diosdado Cabello talked about CONATEL closing down 80 radio stations in 16 states. He said many of those had been closed for a long time, “by their owners.” He assured that in those cases CONATEL is only guarding the property. “Freedom of speech isn’t only for the media, it’s for citizens. There’s never been more freedom of speech,” he said. 

He also applauded the meeting between Petro and Maduro and emphasized that PSUV is willing to cooperate in anything to guarantee “peace among both countries”. 

• Prepara Familia reported Esther Rangel, a teenager who was a patient at JM de los Ríos Hospital, has died. In 2022, 11 patients of the hospital have died while waiting for the reactivation of the transplant program that was suspended five years and three months ago. 
• Ernesto González, secretary of the Carabobo Electricians’ Guild said that they’ll condemn and protest layoffs of workers and union leaders on Tuesday, November 1st, among other unfavorable working conditions. 
• Six inmates have died in the last four months, four of tuberculosis and one of a heart attack, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons. This NGO says that from 1999 to 2021, 7,792 people have died in jail. Deaths by starvation have surpassed violent deaths since 2018. 
• American border patrol officers shot at a group of Venezuelan migrants trying to enter the country illegally on the Ciudad Juárez – El Paso border. Photojournalist Omar Ornelas shared a video where you can hear at least three shots against the migrants and in another video by journalist Reynaldo Lara, you can see the officers firing against migrants even after they had crossed over to Mexican soil. 
• Súmate asked the National Electoral Council to open an administrative procedure to investigate Nicolás for using state media for campaigning in favor of PSUV. 
• Several areas in Maracaibo have reported blackouts and severe road damage after heavy rains. 
• Mayors Elías Sayegh and Darwin González asked institutions to solve problems with pipes that destroy roads. They asked for support and resources to repair streets that suffered damages because of leaks. They said they repair three holes per day that are caused by leaking pipes. 
• Engineer Eduardo Páez Pumar, representative of the Public Policy Association, warned that the reason the pipes collapsed is the amount of “informal households” directing their sewage to the pipes and oxidizing and perforating large pipes in those areas. He said that disrepair of rivers and streams also affects public roads. 
• There were important protests against Lula Da Silva’s victory in at least 12 states in Brazil. Brazilian citizens protested blocking main roads and highways all over the country.